Cardinals Down Braves, White Sox Beat Cubs Again

Published on May 8 2014 1:21 am
Last Updated on May 8 2014 1:21 am
Written by Millie Lange

Cardinals Bounce Braves

(Atlanta, GA) -- Adam Wainwright continued his strong season leading the Cardinals to a 7-1 win over the Braves in the finale of a three-game series at Turner Field. Wainwright improved to 6-and-2, allowing one run in eight innings with six strikeouts. Matt Holliday compiled three hits and three RBI, while Peter Bourjos hit his first homer of the season. Bourjos also had three hits, two runs scored and drove in two for St. Louis, which took two of three from Atlanta. Freddie Freeman had the lone RBI for the Braves. Mike Minor took the loss after not making it out of the fifth inning, giving up 11 hits and six runs.

The Cardinals make the final stop on their three-city road trip this weekend in Pittsburgh. They open a three-game series with the Pirates Friday night at PNC Park. Michael Wacha is slated to start for St. Louis, while Pittsburgh counters with Francisco Liriano.

White Sox Slam Cubs

(Chicago, IL) -- Gordon Beckham hit a three-run homer, and Paul Konerko knocked in three runs to help power the White Sox to an 8-3 win over the Cubs at U.S. Cellular Field. Jose Abreu was 3-for-5 with a pair of runs for Chicago, which has won four straight. John Danks allowed three runs in six innings for his third win. Travis Wood gave up all the runs over four-plus frames for the loss. Mike Olt hit a homer for Chicago, which has lost four in-a-row.

The Chicago Cubs placed pitcher Pedro Strop on the 15-day disabled list on Wednesday with a left groin strain. The 28-year-old is 0-2 with one save and a 4.97 earned run average over 15 games out of the bullpen for the Cubs. To take his spot on the roster, the team recalled pitcher Zac Rosscup from Triple-A Iowa.

Chris Rusin tossed a no-hitter to guide the Iowa Cubs to a 3-0 win over the Zephyrs in Louisiana. It's the first Iowa no-no since August 1984. Only three batters reached base for New Orleans. Rusin improved to 2-4 and also knocked in two runs as the Cubs moved to 18-13.

Sox Activate Gillaspie

(Chicago, IL) -- The Chicago White Sox activated infielder Conor Gillaspie from the 15-day disabled list Wednesday. Gillaspie had been out since April 22nd with a hand injury. He is hitting .302 with 12 RBI and zero home runs and was 2-for-12 during his rehab assignment with Triple-A Charlotte. Outfielder Jordan Danks was sent to Triple-A to make room on the roster.

Pirates Hold Off Giants In Rubber Match

(Pittsburgh, PA) -- Travis Snider singled in two runs as the Pirates built an early 4-1 lead and hung on to beat the Giants 4-3 at PNC Park. Andrew McCutchen had an RBI single and Starling Marte a run-scoring double for Pittsburgh, which won the final two of the three-game series. Gerrit Cole pitched eight innings of three-run ball for his third win. Mark Melancon worked a clean ninth for his second save. Tim Lincecum gave up all four runs in just four innings of work to fall to 2-2 with the loss. Brandon Belt hit a solo homer and a two-run double for San Francisco.

Marlins Complete Sweep Of Mets With Ninth-Inning Sac-Fly

(Miami, FL) -- Marcell Ozuna lofted a sac-fly in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Marlins a 1-0 win over the Mets at Marlins Park. Giancarlo Stanton started the rally with a single and came around to score the game-winner as Miami completed a three-game sweep. Tom Koehler allowed just two hits and a walk over the first eight innings, but Steve Cishek pitched the ninth to get the win. Zack Wheeler struck out seven while giving up two hits and five walks over six innings in a no-decision. Carlos Torres took the loss. David Wright and Lucas Duda had the lone hits for New York.

Nationals Squeak Past Dodgers

(Washington, DC) -- Wilson Ramos hit the go-ahead sac-fly in the bottom of the fifth inning as the Nationals squeaked past the Dodgers 3-2 at Nationals Park. It was Ramos' first game action since Opening Day. Adam LaRoche hit a two-run double in the first inning. Stephen Strasburg pitched 7 1/3 innings of two-run ball to improve to 3-2. Raphael Soriano notched his seventh save as Washington took two of three from L.A. Dan Haren gave up three runs in six frames to fall to 4-1. Adrian Gonzalez and Yasiel Puig had RBI singles in the first for the Dodgers.

Goldy, Arroyo Lead Diamondbacks Past Brewers

(Milwaukee, WI) -- Paul Goldschmidt connected for his seventh home run of the season and Bronson Arroyo pitched into the eighth inning as the Diamondbacks beat the Brewers 3-2 at Miller Park. Goldschmidt homered for the second straight game and Eric Chavez had three hits. Arroyo gave up just five hits and an unearned run for his third win. Addison Reed allowed a run in the ninth, but held on for his 10th save as Arizona took two of three in the series. Wily Peralta took the loss for Milwaukee. Carlos Gomez and Scooter Gennett each went 2-for-4 for the Brew Crew, which has lost four of five.

A's Blank Mariners

(Oakland, CA) -- Drew Pomeranz tossed five innings of scoreless baseball to power the Athletics over the Mariners 2-0 in the second game of a doubleheader from Oakland. Seattle won 6-4 in 10 innings earlier in the day. Pomeranz improved to 2-1. Jim Johnson locked up his second save for Oakland, which snapped a three-game slide to end the four-game series. Yoenis Cespedes hit a solo homer for the A's. Erasmo Ramirez gave up both runs in six innings to slip to 1-4. The M's were held to just three hits in defeat. Seattle had won its previous five games.

Indians Clip Twins

(Cleveland, OH) -- Mike Aviles [walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the ninth gave the Indians a 4-3 win against the Twins in the third of four games at Progressive Field. Michael Brantley went 2-for-4 with two RBI, while Yan Gomes hit a solo home run. Reliever Jon Axford picked up his first win of the season, while Danny Salazar wasn't apart of the decision, but was strong in his 6 1/3 innings. Salazar struck out seven and allowed three runs. The Tribe have won two in-a-row. Danny Santana and Brian Dozier each plated a run in the seventh for Minnesota to tie the game at three. Casey Fien fell to 3-1 after allowing the game-winning hit. Minnesota is 3-and-6 in its last nine.

Tigers Edge Astros

(Detroit, MI) -- Victor Martinez' solo homer in the sixth inning held up as the Tigers edged the Astros 3-2 at Comerica Park. Miguel Cabrera hit a two-run blast in the first inning for the Tigers, who have won eight straight and will try to sweep the four-game series on Thursday. Rick Porcello tossed six-and-two-thirds innings of two-run ball as he improved to 5-1. Joe Nathan closed it out for his seventh save. Dexter Fowler and Marwin Gonzalez drove in a run each for Houston, which has dropped five in-a-row. Brad Peacock allowed three runs in 6 2/3 frames to suffer the loss and fall to 0-3.

Orioles Down Rays

(St. Petersburg, FL) -- Jonathan Schoop hit the game-winning, two-run homer in the seventh inning as the Orioles held on for a 4-3 win over the Rays at Tropicana Field. Adam Jones hit a pair of solo homers for Baltimore, which has won the first two of the three-game series. Ryan Webb earned the win while Tommy Hunter added his 10th save. David DeJesus had a solo home run for Tampa Bay, which has lost three of four. Brandon Gomes suffered the loss.

Yankees Slam Angels

(Anaheim, CA) -- Derek Jeter was 2-for-5 with two runs and a solo homer to help the Yankees beat the Angels 9-2 from Anaheim. John Ryan Murphy and Mark Teixeira added two RBI each for New York, which took the final two of this three-game series. Vidal Nuno allowed one run in 6 1/3 innings for his first win of the year. C.J. Cron was 3-for-4 with an RBI for Los Angeles, which has lost three of four. Hector Santiago fell to 0-6 after giving up two earned runs and six total.

Royals Pound Padres

(San Diego, CA) -- Eric Hosmer went 3-for-4 with four RBI to lead the Royals to an 8-0 win over the Padres at Petco Park. Nori Aoki went 3-for-6 with two runs scored and Danny Valencia also has three hits and knocked in a run for Kansas City. James Shields fired seven shutout innings to improve to 4-and-3 as the Royals took two of three from San Diego. Andrew Cashner was touched for three runs in the first inning and four runs in four frames overall to fall to 2-5 with the loss. Cameron Maybin, Rene Rivera and Alexi Amarista each had two hits for the Friars in defeat.

Blue Jays Blast Phillies

(Toronto, Ontario) -- Edwin Encarnacion hit a three-run home run and scored twice to help the Blue Jays blast the Phillies 10-0 from Toronto. Erik Kratz and Juan Francisco also went deep in the win. Mark Buehrle tossed seven innings of three-hit, shutout ball as he improved to 6-1. Toronto has won four in-a-row, including the first three of this four-game series. Cliff Lee was lit up for six runs in 6 1/3 innings for his third loss. Marlon Byrd went 2-for-3 for Philadelphia, which had won four of six heading into the set.

Red Sox Rally Past Reds

(Boston, MA) -- Will Middlebrooks singled in the go-ahead run in the bottom of the eighth inning as the Red Sox rallied past the Reds 4-3 to sweep the two-game series at Fenway Park. A.J. Pierzynski doubled in the tying run in the eighth, while David Ortiz and Mike Napoli drove in a run each in the sixth for the Sox, who have won four of their last five. Craig Breslow picked up the win and Koji Uehara earned his eighth save. Skip Schumaker hit a two-run homer and Roger Bernadina plated the other run for Cincinnati, which had won three-of-four before this series. J.J. Hoover fell to 1-and-4 with the loss.

Rockies Rough Up Rangers

(Arlington, TX) -- Carlos Gonzalez homered to cap off a five-run fourth inning as the Rockies roughed up the Rangers 9-2 in the first of two games at Globe Life Park. Nolan Arenado went 3-for-5 with two RBI to extend his hitting streak to 27 games, which ties the franchise record set by Michael Cuddyer last year. Corey Dickerson also drove in two runs for the Rockies, who have won three straight over Texas after taking both games in Colorado. Jorge De La Rosa tossed six innings of two-run ball as he improved to 4-3. Adrian Beltre hit a two-run homer for the Rangers, who have been outscored 29-5 in three games against the Rockies. Colby Lewis was rocked for seven runs and 12 hits in less than four frames as he slipped to 2-2 with the loss.